Cabinet construction



April 3, 1934. 1-. LEYA 1,953,357

CABINET CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 17, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 3, 1934 PATENT OFFICE CABINET CONSTRUCTION Thomas Leya, Ilion, N. Y., assignor to A. N. Russell a Sons Company, Ilion, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application February 17, 1932, Serial No. 593,504

2 Claims.

This invention relates to cabinet construction and pertains more particularly to knock-down wooden cabinets of the type adapted for use as museum cases or the like. The principal purpose of the invention is to provide a cabinet which is simple and economical to manufacture, easy to assemble and pleasing in appearance, and which comprises a plurality of panels adapted to be -finished as individual units and to be fitted to- 19 gether to form the top and sides of the assembled structure, one of the panels being pivotally mounted to furnish a swinging door and the cabinet joints including packing material which effectually prevents the admission of dust, moisture or vermin.

The particular features of the improved construction will be apparent from the following description of the recommended embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and will be pointed out in the appended claims. It will be understood, however, that the proportions and structural details of the cabinet herein described may be varied to suit particular purposes without departing from the essence of this invention.

In the drawings,

1 is a perspective view of the improved cabinet;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section, partly broken away, taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail of the top frames of the door and cabinet, taken on line 4-4 of Fig.

1; and

Fig. 5 is a similar detail on line 5-5 of Fig. 3, showing the bottom of the door.

The cabinet chosen for the purpose of illustration comprises a rectangular base 6 of wood panels 8 and 9, a hinged front panel or door 10, and a top panel or cover 11. Each of the panels preferably includes marginal wooden frame members, suitably joined at the corners, and a pane 12 of glass or other transparent material, the pane being retained in the frame by wooden strips 13, and packing strips 14 being interposed between the pane margin and a shouldered portion of the frame. The retaining strips 13 are fastened flush with the outer surface of the frame members, and the thickness of the strips depends upon the thickness of the pane; hence, either flat sheet glass or quarterinch plate may be employed without changing the form or dimensions of the frame proper.

or other suitable material, a back panel '7, side,

The back, side and top panels are arranged to interfit in such a manner that they may be readily assembled and easily fastened together; and the several joints are constructed to provide space for packing material 15 such as asbestos, felt or the like. The lower horizontal frame members 17 of the-back and side panels also have bottom channels receiving packing 18 which engages the base 6 and. prevents the entrance of dust and vermin under the panels. Provision for packing material is also made at the four sides of the swinging door 10, in the manner hereinafter described. The arrangement of the packing is one of the important features of this invention, for it is essential that a museum case be substantially dust and vermin proof in order to preserve the exhibits displayed within the cabinet.

The respective vertical corner joints at the rear of the cabinet (Fig. 3) are similar in construction, each comprising the vertical margin pieces 19 and 20 of the back and side panels respectively, frame member 19 having an outwardly directed channel 21 receiving a tenon 22 of frame 20 (as well as the packing l5), and the latter frame having an inwardly directed flange 23 abutting the inner face of member 19 and defining a channel 24 between itself and the tenon 22. The interlocked members are thus secured against relative movement in a fore and aft direction and are preferably fastened in a lateral direction by the complemental, interfitting frame of the top panel 11.

For this purpose, the horizontal frame 25 at the top of the back and side panels (Fig. 2) has a pair of upstanding flanges or projections 26 and 2'7 defining an intermediate channel 28; and the cover frame 29 fits inside the outer projection 26 and has a tongue 30 fitting in said channel against the packing 15, and a depending inner flange 31 abutting the inner surface of the frame 25. The cover may be secured in such position by screws 32 at the sides and back of the cabinet, and it will be observed that the outer face of the cover frame is flush with the upper ends of the side panel top frames 25 within which the cover is seated.

The interlocking, horizontal joints between the cover frame and the upper marginal pieces of the back and side panels effectively secure these cabinet parts against relative displacement, as above indicated, particularly after the retaining screws 32 are inserted; and these panels may be readily assembled or separated Without special tools. In some cases, the weight of the top panel will be. sufficient to maintain the interlocking construction without the necessity of wood screws or other fastenings. Excessive strain upon the cover is relieved by securing the bottom frames 1'? of the back and side panels by means of wood screws 33 fastening into the baseboard 6 or other support for the erected cabinet.

The doorway or entrance at the front of the cabinet is framed by the vertical margin pieces 34 of the side panels and the front member 35 of the cover; and the door 10 is connected to one of the frames 34 by hinges 36, they outer face of said frame being suitably recessed to receive the plates of the leaf-type hinges. The margin pieces 34 are similar to the rear frames 20, except that the channels 24 of the latter are omitted and that the front face of the inwardly extending flanges 3'? have packing-filled grooves 38. Similarly, the front cover frame 35 differs from margin pieces 29 only in that the tenon 30 of the latter is cut off, and a packing-filled groove 39 is provided in the depending flange 40. Hence, as the frame members 19, 20, 25 and 29 are substantially identical in cross section, substantial economies are afforded in quantity production of the cabinets.

The inwardly projecting flanges 37 and 40 constitute jambs for the swinging door at its sides and top respectively; and a complemental abutment is provided at the bottom of the doorway by fastening a wooden strip 41 to the baseboard 6 as by screws 42. The strip 41 fits between the upright frames 34 and is of less height than the bottom frame pieces 1'? (Fig. 5). The outer face of the abutment strip has a longitudinal groove filled with packing 43, so that the doorway is substantially encircled by the packing strips 38, 39 and 43 which effectually seal joints between the closed door and the jambs or abutments of the cabinet entrance.

The margin pieces 44 of the door are similar to each other in construction, including outer portions 45 which abut the outer faces of the entrance frames 34, 35 and 41, and inwardly offset flanges 46 which fit within said frame parts and bear against the packing in the flanges 37 and 40. The packing 43 in the bottom strip 41 is compressed by the -lower horizontal frame portion 45, so that each of the four sides of the door is seated against a strip of packing material, as pointed out above. The closed door thus effectively seals the entrance of the cabinet against dust, moisture and vermin in, a simple and. efficient manner.

The cabinet herein described is economical to manufacture, the respective panels may be completed as individual units and conveniently shipped to the place of erection for rapid assembly, and the erected cabinet furnishes a protective enclosure and attractive setting for the various articles therein exhibited.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A knock-down cabinet comprising a back panel, side panels and a top panel, each of said panels including marginal frame members and a pane secured therein, and the several panels interfitting to provide vertical corner joints at the rear of the cabinet and horizontal joints at the rear and sides of the top thereof, respectively, the respective frame members forming said joints being similarly shaped and having interfitting parts providing complemental interengaging channel and tenon portions, the tenon of one member being of less depth than the channel into which it extends thereby providing a concealed packing retaining chamber which extends throughout the entire length of the joint, packing material disposed in said chamber to provide a dust-proof joint, the top panel fitting within the upper horizontal frame members of the back and side panels and having its outer surface substantially flush with the upper ends of said frame members, a front panel hinged to the forward vertical frame member of one of the side panels and constituting a door adapted to close against the forward vertical frame member of the other side panel, said forward vertical frame members having inwardly projecting flanges forming jambs for the door, the forward frame member of the top panel having a complementary, downwardly projecting flange, each of said flanges having a groove in its jamb face and packing material disposed in the grooves.

2. A knock-down, dust-proof cabinet comprising a rear panel, side panels, and a top panel, said panels having interfiting marginal frame members providing vertical corner joints at the rear of the cabinet and. horizontal joints at the rear and sides of the top of the cabinet, each of said frame members being similarly shaped and having interfiting parts providing complemental interengaging channel and tenon portions, the tenon of one frame member being of less depth than the channel into which it extends thereby providing a concealed packing-retaining chamber which extends throughout the entire length of each of the joints, and compressed packing ma terial disposed in the chambers of the joints to render them dust-proof.

THOMAS LEYA. 

